Harriet is a retired teacher and a widow. She fills a few of her empty hours leading a bookgroup for a group of women in a local prison. Frank is a friendly handy man at the book store where Harriet gets ideas for books to share with the group. Frank's wife Lorraine was a popular kindergarten teacher who was killed when a young women named Violet drank too much and caused the accident that killed her. Violet is in Harriet's book group. When she is released from prison early, she finds herself in the same Portland, Maine neighborhood as Frank and Harriet. Can you see where this is going? In rotating chapters, we see each character through the eyes of the others. We see the reality of each life as they reveal their own truths. I loved these characters, including all the book club members - witty, compasionate, tough, forgiving, - and I loved the way books and book discussion provided insight for them all. The ending is a quick summary of the decades following the core story. Normally not my favorite easy out for an author but loved it here. I guess I will have to reread the Spoon River Anthology to understand why. And someone would have to read this book to understand the SRA reference.
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